You don’t know how lucky you are to live in a free country. Try to study very hard and get a good education. Give back to your country. Give back to your parents. You have a bright future.

Thu Van Nguyen

South Vietnamese Veteran and Reeducation Camp Survivor

My name is Thu Van Nguyen. I was born on February 13, 1946 in Vietnam. I come from a large extended family, most of whom still reside there. I live in Chanhassen with my wife. We have four children.

I will begin my story as an 18-year-old. I was called by the government to fight in the war. I did not have a choice. They sent me off for training and stationed me in a city called Camranh. I fought in the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). In 1975, the communists took over so we were moved to Vungtau. Later we were sent to the Philippines and then to Guam Later we were sent to the Philippines and then to Guam.

I stayed in Guam for six months but longed to be with my family. I made the decision to return to Vietnam, even though it entailed being sent to a reeducaiton camp, a horrible prison. It was the only path I could take that held the hope of reuniting (me) with loved ones. I felt it was better to die with my family than to die alone.

I had no idea that my journey home would take five grueling years. I traveled by boat along with 1,632 others. When we were finally allowed to port, the communist government stripped us of everything we had. They loaded us into buses, windows closed and blocked. The bus led us to the jungles of Vietnam where we would have no contact with the outside world. Many died. Their families never even knew they were there. Reading the Bible was my only nourishment. My faith in God is the only explanation I have for my survival.

In 1980, five years after I had arrived, my prayers were answered. I “graduated” from camp. The government still followed me, watched me, and studied me. They told me I had to farm, though I did not know how. But I was finally back with family. That was all that mattered.

Then I got a job at Cedar Ridge that had health benefits. I have been working there since 1997. My life is good now. My son attends the University of Minnesota. He is studying to be a designer of houses. My oldest son has a family. My youngest son and daughter go to school in Chaska. My wife works for Eden Prairie Schools as well.

You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are

Honoring Thu Van Nguyen

You Don’t Know How Lucky You AreHonoring Thu Van Nguyen

(Chorus)
You don’t know how lucky you are to live in a free country

Dad was a fisherman
We lived by the sea
With five sisters
Dad, mom, and me
We were Catholic
So when the communists
Took control of the north
We chose to resist
(CHORUS)
First the Japanese
Then came the French
Then the Americans
By plane and by ship
We lived in times of war
Dressed in black,
brown, or green
When the planes
soared above
We would not be seen
(CHORUS)
At the market
Dad would shout
Face down to the ground
Pretend you are dead
Pray the bombs
don’t come down
By day we belonged
To the armies of the South
By night the Vietcong
Traveled about
(CHORUS)
We all went to war
We didn’t have a choice
We didn’t know why
We didn’t have a voice
Sent to the DMZ
A sailor at sea
When the country fell
No refuge for me
(CHORUS)
Waves of people
pressing down
So many could not swim
Nothing but a mass grave
When the war did end
Took us to the Philippines
Got transferred to Guam
I missed my family
Back in Vietnam
(CHORUS)
1,500 women and men
Returned to Vungtau
They put us in one room
They made us write down
What position we were in
What rank and where
we served
After that we were sent
To a place no one deserves
(CHORUS)
Worked eight hour days
Mixed mud to make bricks
Two bowls of rice a day
Thousands died or got sick
With beds of bamboo
30 men to a room
Your life was on the line
If you talked or if you moved
(CHORUS)
Had to study Karl Marx
Learn about Ho Chi Minh
With Jesus in my heart
I had a special friend
I hid the rosary
On a ledge in my room
At the end of the day
Asked God to
guide me through
(CHORUS)
After five long years
Dreams became reality
Was released from the camp
To join my family
Invited to the States
Became a citizen
So thankful am I
My new life has begun
(CHORUS)